Science news

• Scientists solve a mystery in cellular 'droplet' organelles

  12-06-2017 23:18
  
  New research may have important implications for fundamental biology and diseases like ALS, a new report outlines.
  
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• Mass death of fish in US river

  12-06-2017 23:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Thousands of dying and dead fish were found in a river leading to the Gulf of Mexico.
  
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• Winning climate strategy demands details

  12-06-2017 23:09
  
  Examining the daily minutia of climate, not just temperature, but also sunshine, precipitation and soil moisture simultaneously all over a country gives a better understanding of how variable a land's climate can be. That information is crucial when countries are setting policies aimed at growing food, protecting water supplies and the environment and stemming disease outbreaks.
  
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• Where cigarette smoking's damage is done... down to your DNA

  12-06-2017 23:09
  
  Scientists have known for decades that smoking cigarettes causes DNA damage, which leads to lung cancer. Now, for the first time, scientists created a method for effectively mapping that DNA damage at high resolution across the genome.
  
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• New cancer drug makes commonly prescribed chemo drug more effective when given together

  12-06-2017 23:09
  Researchers have found a way to increase the effectiveness of a widely used cancer drug while decreasing the risk of heart-damaging side effects, according to a new study.
  
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• Floodplain farm fields benefit juvenile salmon

  12-06-2017 23:09
  
  Central Valley rice fields managed as floodplains during the winter can create surrogate wetland habitat for native fish, study shows.
  
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• CT angiography appears better at predicting future risk for patients with chest pain

  12-06-2017 23:09
  An analysis of diagnostic test results from a trial comparing anatomic with functional testing as an initial diagnostic strategy for patients with chest pain found that CT angiography better predicted the risk for future cardiac events than did measures of exercise tolerance or restricted blood flow to the heart muscle.
  
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• Climate change researchers cancel expedition because of climate change

  12-06-2017 22:06 via cbc.ca
  
  A team of scientists had to abandon an expedition from Quebec City to Churchill, Man., on Sunday because of hazardous ice conditions caused by climate change.
  
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• Jupiter is one old-timer, scientist finds

  12-06-2017 21:42
  
  Jupiter is the oldest planet in our solar system, an international group of scientists has found.
  
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• inflammatory molecule essential to muscle regeneration in mice, researchers find

  12-06-2017 21:36
  A molecule released as part of an inflammatory response after muscle injury or rigorous exercise activates muscle stem cells responsible for repairing the damage, according to a study.
  
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• Personalized PRRT improves radiation delivery to neuroendocrine tumors

  12-06-2017 21:35
  
  Neuroendocrine cancer is exceedingly difficult to manage and unlikely to be cured, but researchers intend to slow progression of these tumors and aid survival by personalizing patient dose of peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), according to research.
  
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• Healthy diet? That depends on your genes

  12-06-2017 21:35
  Shifts in the diets of Europeans after the introduction of farming 10,000 years ago led to genetic adaptations that favored the dietary trends of the time, new research indicates. The study has implications for the growing field of nutritional genomics, called nutrigenomics. Based on one's ancestry, clinicians may one day tailor each person's diet to her or his genome to improve health and prevent disease.
  
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• Combining radionuclide therapy with a PARP inhibitor slows neuroendocrine tumor growth

  12-06-2017 21:35
  
  Patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) may experience fewer symptoms and survive longer by undergoing peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) combined with a drug that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy, say researchers.
  
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• New protection for endangered West Coast whales cancelled by U.S.

  12-06-2017 21:33 via cbc.ca
  
  The Trump administration has thrown out a new rule meant to keep endangered whales and sea turtles from getting tangled in mile-long West Coast fishing nets.
  
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• Jupiter’s precocious birth happened in the solar system’s first million years

  12-06-2017 21:01
  
  Jupiter formed within the first million years of the solar system, according to meteorite measurements.
  
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• 'DNA is a bully' that hustles transcribers to targets

  12-06-2017 19:58
  
  "DNA is a bully." That's how one researcher sums up the dominant power of DNA motion among the forces acting upon transcription factors as they move through DNA's winding thickets to their target sites. A team of researchers has programmed a very large, unique simulation that tests and corroborates the hypothesis.
  
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• Western diet increases Alzheimer's pathology in genetically predisposed mice

  12-06-2017 19:55
  Obese mice with a particular version of a gene strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease in humans show increased Alzheimer's pathology, according to new research.
  
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• Researchers find glass eels use internal compass to find their way home

  12-06-2017 19:55
  
  Scientists are closer to unraveling the long-standing mystery of how tiny glass eel larvae, which begin their lives as hatchlings in the Sargasso Sea, know when and where to 'hop off' the Gulf Stream toward European coastlines to live out their adult lives in coastal estuaries.
  
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• Report outlines strategies to address ethnic health care disparities

  12-06-2017 19:55
  An analysis of survey data from participants in the Massachusetts General Hospital-based Disparities Leadership Program -- a yearlong executive education initiative designed to help health care leaders address racial and ethnic disparities in health care services -- has identified five important strategies that helped participants implement successful projects for their institutions.
  
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• Mixing booze, pot is a serious threat to traffic safety

  12-06-2017 19:55
  
  Use of marijuana in combination with alcohol by drivers is especially dangerous, according to a study. Drivers who used alcohol, marijuana, or both were significantly more likely to be responsible for causing fatal two-vehicle crashes compared to drivers who were involved in the same crashes but used neither of the substances.
  
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• Low levels of vitamin A may fuel TB risk

  12-06-2017 19:55
  People with low levels of vitamin A living with individuals sick with tuberculosis may be 10 times more likely to develop the disease than people with high levels of the nutrient, according to research.
  
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• Bloodhound supersonic car set for October trials

  12-06-2017 19:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Bloodhound 1,000mph car will conduct some "slow speed" runs at Newquay airport in Cornwall.
  
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• Researchers identify inhibitor that overcomes drug resistance in prostate cancer

  12-06-2017 18:44
  A newly discovered epigenetic mechanism can lead to the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer, new research demonstrates.
  
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• Late-nesting birds, bees face habitat threat

  12-06-2017 18:44
  
  Bird and bumblebee species that nest late in the year are suffering more from the destruction of habitats, new research suggests. With habitats such as hedgerows and hay meadows in decline in many countries, fewer nest sites are available -- leading to more competition.
  
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• Cellular sweet spot found in skin-cancer battle

  12-06-2017 18:44
  A team of researchers has pinpointed a sugar modification in cells that spurs the spread of skin cancer. Its findings spotlight a target in the battle against melanoma.
  
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• Why it's not fair to lump Nicaragua with the U.S. when it comes to the Paris climate accord

  12-06-2017 18:40 via cbc.ca
  
  Nicaraguan National Policy Minister Paul Oquist explains why his country did not sign the Paris climate agreement.
  
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• Comparing student performance on paper-and-pencil and computer-based-tests

  12-06-2017 17:57
  Based on a study of more than 30,000 elementary, middle, and high school students conducted in winter 2015–16, researchers found that elementary and middle school students scored lower on a computer-based test that did not allow them to return to previous items than on two comparable tests—paper- or computer-based—that allowed them to skip, review, and change previous responses.
  
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• New process may lead to vaccine for schistosomiasis

  12-06-2017 17:56
  Scientists have developed a way to produce a protein antigen that may be useful as vaccine for schistosomiasis – a parasitic disease that infects millions of people, mostly in tropical and subtropical climates – according to new research.
  
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• Splitting cells: How a dynamic protein machinery executes 'the final cut'

  12-06-2017 17:55
  
  Every day billions of cells die in our body and need to be replaced by newly dividing cells. Cell division is a beautifully orchestrated process that involves multiple critical steps. At the very end, “cellular abscission” splits the membrane and thereby gives birth to two daughter cells. Abscission is executed by a protein machinery named ESCRT-III. Insights into the function of ESCRT-III are also interesting for many other biological processes – as this machinery also pinches
  
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• Genetic differences across species guide vocal learning in juvenile songbirds

  12-06-2017 17:55
  
  Juvenile birds discriminate and selectively learn their own species’ songs even when primarily exposed to the songs of other species, but the underlying mechanism has remained unknown. A new study shows that song discrimination arises due to genetic differences between species, rather than early learning or other mechanisms.
  
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• Worldwide hotspots for alien plants and animals: Islands and coastal regions

  12-06-2017 17:54
  
  The distribution of established alien species in different regions of the world varies significantly. Until now, scientists were uncertain about where the global hotspots for established alien species are located. Most alien species can be found on islands and coastal regions.
  
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• Using enticing food labeling to make vegetables more appealing

  12-06-2017 17:54
  Does labeling carrots as 'twisted citrus-glazed carrots' or green beans as 'sweet sizzilin' green beans and crispy shallots' make them more enticing and increase vegetable consumption?
  
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• Technology unlocks mold genomes for new drugs

  12-06-2017 17:54
  Fungi are rich sources of natural molecules for drug discovery, but numerous challenges have pushed pharmaceutical companies away from tapping into this bounty. Now scientists have developed technology that uses genomics and data analytics to efficiently screen for molecules produced by molds to find new drug leads -- maybe even the next penicillin. From three diverse fungal species, the research team discovered 17 new natural products.
  
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• Proteins which suppress the growth of breast cancer tumors discovered

  12-06-2017 17:54
  
  A type of protein has been discovered that could hold the secret to suppressing the growth of breast cancer tumors, say scientists.
  
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• Licensing and motor vehicle crash risk among teens with ADHD

  12-06-2017 17:54
  Adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are licensed to drive less often and, when this group is licensed, they have a greater risk of crashing, according to a new study.
  
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• Is educational attainment associated with lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease?

  12-06-2017 17:54
  Men and women with the lowest education level had higher lifetime risks of cardiovascular disease than those with the highest education level, according to a new study.
  
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• How do preemies perform in school?

  12-06-2017 17:54
  Parents of prematurely born babies often fear their children may go on to struggle in school, but findings from a new large-scale study should reassure parents.
  
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• Detailed new genome for maize shows the plant has deep resources for continued adaptation

  12-06-2017 17:54
  
  A much more detailed reference genome for maize has been published by researchers. The sequence of DNA letters in the plant's 10 chromosomes reveals how how incredibly flexible it is, a characteristic that directly follows from the way its genome is organized. This flexibility not only helps explain why maize has been so successful since its adaptation by agriculturalists thousands of years ago, but also bodes well for its ability to grow in new places as Earth's climate changes.
  
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• Study identifies potential biomarker for Alzheimer's disease

  12-06-2017 17:53
  In one of the largest studies to date to use metabolomics, the study of compounds that are created through various chemical reactions in the body, researchers have been able to identify new circulating compounds associated with the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The findings point to new biological pathways that may be implicated in AD and could serve as biomarkers for risk of the disease.
  
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• Promiscuous salamander found to use genes from three partners equally

  12-06-2017 17:53
  
  A study shows that a unique all-female lineage of salamander equally balances genes from the males of three other salamander species. The findings highlight the bizarre ways some animals reproduce in order to preserve their species.
  
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• Iqaluit could start running out of fresh water by 2024

  12-06-2017 17:53
  
  Without action, the supply of fresh water in Iqaluit will begin to dwindle by 2024 due to climate change and increased demand, new research has found.
  
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• Insomnia not purely psychological condition: Insomnia genes found

  12-06-2017 17:53
  
  An international team of researchers has found, for the first time, seven risk genes for insomnia. With this finding the researchers have taken an important step towards the unraveling of the biological mechanisms that cause insomnia. In addition, the finding proves that insomnia is not, as is often claimed, a purely psychological condition.
  
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• Drug lowers levels of biomarker linked to ALS

  12-06-2017 17:53
  A new study finds that a decades-old drug used to treat malaria lowers levels of a biomarker linked to the inherited form of ALS.
  
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• Global hotspots for alien invasions revealed

  12-06-2017 17:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Great Britain is in the top 10% of areas for harbouring alien species, according to a study.
  
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• Water circling a drain provides insight into black holes

  12-06-2017 17:00
  
  Water waves scattering off a vortex can exhibit rotational superradiance, an effect predicted to appear in black holes.
  
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• U.S. refuses to join G7 pledge on Paris climate agreement

  12-06-2017 16:39 via cbc.ca
  
  The United States refused Monday to sign onto a Group of Seven pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the "irreversible" global tool to address climate change.
  
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• E-cigarettes less addictive than cigarettes, study shows

  12-06-2017 16:26
  People who regularly use electronic cigarettes are less dependent on their product than those who regularly use traditional cigarettes, according to researchers.
  
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• Scientists develop computer-guided strategy to accelerate materials discovery

  12-06-2017 16:24
  A new computer-guided strategy led to the discovery of two new materials in the laboratory, report researchers.
  
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• HPV vaccine could drastically reduce cervical and other cancers globally

  12-06-2017 15:46
  The latest HPV vaccine could prevent most HPV infections — and millions of cancers — worldwide, according to new researchers.
  
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• Chip captures individual cells in minuscule gels

  12-06-2017 15:45
  Researchers have developed a chip that can capture and hold individual cells in the exact center of a minuscule hydrogel droplet. Their novel method keeps cells alive for multiple weeks, which makes it easier to study them. This makes it possible to, for example, test the action of new drugs and improve stem cell therapies with unparalleled control.
  
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